Anime Classics Episode 3 – Notable Players in the Classic Era of Anime

This episode is a brief overview of some of the most notable players in the classic era of anime and serves as part two of an introductory primer to classic anime.

Here are links to points of interest on the show:

• Your SFW Guide to 90s Ecchi Anime
• Princess Iron Fan on YouTube

Episode Transcript:

Intro:

Do you want to know more about the people that defined the era of classic anime? If so, you have tuned into the right podcast.

Hi, I’m Rowegn, and I’m the host of the anime classics podcast.

On today’s episode, we are going to discuss 5 key people you should know about when diving into classic anime. This is the 2^nd part of our primer on classic anime.

Thank you for listening.

-Intro Music

• Thank you again for joining us, you’re listening to the anime classics podcast.
• On the last episode, we dug into the first part of our primer on classic anime. Although it is not necessary to listen to that episode to understand what we are talking about today, I’d highly recommend you go back and check it out if you missed it.
• This week we are going to dive into some of the most noteworthy names in the industry that helped define the classic anime era. The people discussed on this show played a large role in shaping the industry into what we see today. Unfortunately, I can’t cover everyone, and there are a lot of people worth talking about, but we will be hitting on some big names that you will likely recognize.
• To keep things simple, we’re going to focus on five important industry players between 1963 and 2001.
• If you listened to the last episode, you’ll recognize 1963 as the year that Astro Boy hit the airwaves. And this was the first show to feature the familiar character style of big heads and big eyes that has been a mainstay of the industry ever since.
• This doesn’t mean that the people who were involved in anime that came out before 1963 aren’t noteworthy or important, however prior to 1963, the anime industry was primarily comprised of short films and propaganda movies with a handful of theatrical films that are still worth checking out.
• In terms of classic anime though, the early 60s is where things really took shape, so we’re going to focus some of the most influential people who created what came out during and after this decade.
• So on this episode we will be talking about 5 people who helped shape the industry into what it is today. This includes Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, Go Nagai, Akira Toriyama, and Hayao Miyazaki.
• Now, there are plenty of other notable names worth discussing, however in terms of getting your feet wet with classic anime, these are 5 players who played a part in some of the most significant works of the time.
• So we will get things started by talking about Osamu Tezuka.

Osamu Tezuka

• I’ve already mentioned Astro Boy, and this is a perfect place to start, because Astro Boy was the creation of Osamu Tezuka. And he is perhaps the most influential person we will be discussing.
• That’s not to say he’s the best anime creator of all time and created the best anime ever made, but for better or worse, he set the tone for the entire industry, and his influence is still felt to this day.
• Osamu Tezuka got his start as a manga artist in the mid-1940s, and he was heavily inspired by American filmmakers and animation studios such as Charlie Chaplin, Disney, and the Fleischer Brothers.
• What is often overlooked though, is that he was also heavily inspired by Chinese animators such as Wan Laiming, who is commonly considered to be China’s first animator and he animated the first full length feature animated Asian film, Princess Iron Fan.
• By the way, if you’ve never watched Princess Iron Fan, I’d suggest you check it out, even if it’s just for historical purposes. The movie is in black and white and utilized rotoscoping and was Wan Laiming’s attempt to create a Chinese animated feature length film on par with Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I’ll let you decide if they accomplished that or not, but it’s still worth a watch and it would be cool if it ever received a remaster.
• But getting back to Osamu Tezuka, he got his start in manga at the end of World War II during the years of occupation by allied forces. In this time, censorship policies specifically prohibited any art or writing that glorified war and Japanese imperialism, however the Japanese constitution subsequently banned all forms of censorship otherwise.
• This freed up artists such as Tezuka to produce manga such as Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight, and Astro Boy.
• All of these works would later see anime adaptations, and he would go on to create other famous works, however his influence on the industry stretched far beyond his artistic contributions.
• In 1961, Tezuka started Tezuka Productions after leaving Toei and refined many methods to shortcut the animation process for the purpose of creating many episodes of anime in a very short amount of time. And many of these methods are still used in modern anime.
• These methods include the use of sound effects, repeated animation cycles, holding frames for a long time, and limited animation.
• By the way, if you’re wondering what limited animation is, it’s when only certain parts of the animation frames are redrawn. For example, you’ll commonly see this during dialogue when characters are talking and the entire frame is still except for the mouth and perhaps the occasional blink.
• Another standard that Tezuka set was low budget productions with the intent of undercutting competing animation studios. This is what lead to Tezuka productions securing a distribution deal for Astro Boy with NBC Enterprises.
• This low budget approach is something that has stuck with the industry to this day, and has resulted in animators working long hours for poverty wages.
• Despite this, it’s undeniable that Tezuka remains one of the most influential people in the history of anime and helped bring global attention to Japanese animation.

Leiji Matsumoto

• And similarly to Osamu Tezuka, the next person we are going to discuss also started as a manga artist.
• The anime work of Leiji Matsumoto in the mid-70s represents a time where there was a shift toward more mature storytelling and overarching plots that stretched over multiple episodes and entire seasons.
• Prior to this, most shows were episodic in nature, which worked better for syndication and reruns, however, aging anime fans began to demand more from their shows, and Space Battleship Yamato was just the show.
• Leiji Matsumoto got his start as a manga artist in the late 50s, and it wasn’t until the early 70s when he rose in popularity thanks to his work on Otoko Oidon.
• This opened to door to several opportunities and in 1973 he was asked to participate in the design of a new space anime called Space Battleship Yamato. Leiji Matsumoto had longed to involve himself in animation, and initially he rewrote many portions of the story and focused on character designs, however he eventually withdrew from the project because he was not allowed full creative control.
• However, in 1974, after the show director was compelled to leave to work on another project, Leiji Matsumoto was brought in and given the position of director, thereby granting him creative control over the series.
• When Space Batteship Yamato was initially broadcast, it actually had pretty low ratings. But over the course of the next 3 years, the show was rebroadcast and gradually increased in popularity.
• And then in 1977, a movie was released for Space Battleship Yamato, which was mostly made from recutting the original series. So the end result is a movie that doesn’t feel very cinematic, but beyond this, the movie spurred a significant interest in anime and many attribute the popularity of this series and movie for spurring the anime boom that picked up steam in the early 80s.
• After this, Leiji Matsumoto was a very busy man. And in 1977, Planet Robot Danguard Ace, Captain Harlock, and Galaxy Express 999 all hit the airwaves and all were written by Matsumoto.
• He would continue to work well into the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, however none of his late works carried the same impact as his shows from the late 70s.
• As a side note, if you are interested in checking out Space Battleship Yamato, it was rebroadcast and dubbed in English for airing in the United States under the name, Star Blazers.
• The show was edited and censored so that it would be suitable for watching by school aged children, but even with this the show still played a significant role in popularizing anime in the United States.

Go Nagai

• Any fan of violent, giant robot, or magical girl anime owes the next person we’re going to talk about a debt of gratitude.
• Though the shows he created may not fall in most “top ten anime of all time” lists you’ll find on the internet, they have undeniably left their mark on the industry and helped to pioneer new subgenres in science fiction.
• The shows I’m talking about are Mazinger Z, Violence Jack, Cutie Honey, and Devilman.
• Some of you listening know that I am of course speaking about the legendary Go Nagai. And like everyone else on this list, he got his start as a manga artist.
• Now Go Nagai credits his experience with reading Osamu Tezuka’s Lost World manga for sparking his interest in becoming a manga artist. If you don’t remember who Osamu Tezuka is, you might want to rewind the show a bit.
• In the late 60s, Go Nagai made a name for himself when his manga, Harenchi Gakuen, which translates to “shameless school,” was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump magazine.
• This manga helped popularize Weekly Shonen Jump due to the erotic nature of the comics, and this is generally credited with being the first modern erotic manga and also for being the first ecchi manga series.
• If you’re wondering what ecchi is, it is a form of fan service that is adult in nature, and if you’re interested in finding out more, please head to our website and we’ll provide a safe for work link to help you understand.
• Now, as you can imagine the manga was incredibly popular amongst young boys, and this made  Go Nagai a household name at the time.
• Not everything was peachy for Nagai though, because a lot of parents weren’t too happy with their sons reading what some considered to be softcore pornographic material. And eventually the manga was cancelled.
• This was not the end of Go Nagai, however, and he went on to create several more manga.
• And to be honest, the rate at which he created manga is quite mind-boggling, and to date he’s worked on over 360 manga titles.
• And while that is incredibly impressive, what’s even more impressive is that he accomplished all of that while pioneering the mech, dark fantasy, and magic girl anime genres with his shows Mazinger Z, Devilman, and Cutie Honey.
• These three shows all came out in the early 70s, and this was a time when the anime industry was emerging from the era of kids shows such as Astro Boy and Magic Girl Sally.
• So Nagai played a huge role in developing mature anime that became mainstream among older kids, teens, and even young adults.
• And this trend would carry on through the industry into the late 70s and the golden age of the 80s.

Akira Toriyama

• Akira Toriyama is the next person on this list, and if you’re not familiar with his name, you are definitely familiar with his most popular creation, Dragon Ball Z.
• Toriyama is yet another manga artist who became involved in the anime industry, though his entry into the industry came much later than the other people we’re talking about today. In fact, Toriyama is the youngest person on this list by 10 years, so he’s quite the spring chicken when compared to Matsumoto or Tezuka.
• In the early 80s, Toriyama saw some success as a manga author in Japan with his work on Dr. Slump, which was adapted into a 243-episode anime, which is quite impressive in any era.
• In the mid 80s, Toriyama would channel his love of Kung Fu movies into a new manga called Dragon Ball, which is the second best-selling manga series of all time.
• If you’re wondering, One Piece is the best selling series.
• But, as you are likely aware at this point, Dragon Ball is the first part in the long running series that also includes Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super.
• Dragon Ball Z is perhaps the most noteworthy entry on that list, as it is what brought the series, and anime, into the international spotlight in the late 90s.
• You see, at the time, Cartoon Network had a block of Japanese animation called Toonami, and Dragon Ball Z aired in an afternoon slot in the late 90s, and as a result the show became a pop culture phenomenon.
• It’s saying something when even your grandma knows about Dragon Ball Z.
• And Dragon Ball Z is another one of those shows that is largely responsible for creating a new generation of anime fans.
• The 80s and 90s was a very good time for Akira Toriyama, and his reach also extended into the video game industry.
• As you may or may not be aware, Toriyama has done character and world design for a handful of popular games.
• This includes the entirety of the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, and the Tobal series, and of course the Dragon Ball Z games.
• His signature style is instantly recognizable, and he is credited with influencing many popular shonen anime and manga including titles such as Bleach, Naruto, and Fairy Tail.
• These days, Toriyama continues to involve himself in the various Dragon Ball shows, movies, and manga that are still created.
• And if you are interested in exploring some of his non-dragon ball anime, you can take a step back into the 80s and 90s and check out Dr. Slump, Pink: Water Bandit, Rain Bandit, Kennosuke-Sama, and Go! Go! Ackman.

Hayao Miyazaki

• The last person we’re going to talk about is Hayao Miyazaki. He likely needs no introduction, and although I would by no means consider him to be the most important person on this list, he may be the most recognizable name to even non-anime fans.
• That’s not to say that everyone knows who he is or instantly links him to Spirited Away or Nausicaa, but when Disney and Studio Ghibli struck an international distribution deal in the 90s, it brought many of Miyazaki’s works to family tvs around the world.
• Now, some may argue that Disney bungled this distribution deal and did a disservice to the classic works of Studio Ghibli, but there is something to be said about being able to walk into your local Wal-Mart to pick up a copy of How’s Moving Castle on DVD or Blu-Ray.
• And this exposure has shown many people that anime can be more than just fan service and juvenile slapstick humor or violence.
• And the most popular man behind Studio Ghibli is non other than Hayao Miyazaki.
• Miyazaki’s involved in the anime industry dates back to 1963 when he took a job at Toei Animation.
• Here, he worked as an in-between animator on the movie Doggie March and the show Wolf-Boy Ken.
• As a side note, if you don’t know what an in-between animator is, they’re the person who draws the transitional animations between the key-frames.
• So, for example, if you had a shot where a man is raising his arm, the key frames may be of his arm completely lowered, and his arm completely raised, and then the in-between frames would be the motion of raising his arm.
• From there, Miyazaki would continue to work on several other family oriented anime until 1971, when he left Toei for A-Pro co-directed Lupin the Third Part I.
• A couple years later he’d move on to Nippon Animation and work on the World Masterpiece Theater series of shows including Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Ann of Green Gables.
• In 1979, Hayao Miyazaki began a stint at Telecom Animation Film, and directed his first movie, Lupin the III: The Castle of Cagliostro.
• In 1984, Miyazaki cofounded Studio Ghibli, and the rest, as they, is history. If you are an anime fan and the name Studio Ghibli isn’t instantly recognizable, then you probably haven’t been an anime fan for very long.
• But, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but you should know that having a healthy appreciation for Studio Ghibli is part of being an anime fan.
• Their movies may not be your favorite, and you may not even like the movies, but no other anime studio has achieved the level of global recognition that Studio Ghibli has.
• And the face of this studio is Hayao Miyazaki. His long list of credits include Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away amongst a handful of other movies.
• Pick any one of those titles and you’re in for a memorable experience, and it will be easy to see why Hayao Miyazaki is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation, not just anime, but animation in general.

Closing

• Now, we just talked about 5 people who were instrumental in pushing the anime industry into what we see today. This includes Osamu Tezuka, Leiji Matsumoto, Go Nagai, Akira Toriyama, and Hayao Miyazaki.
• We could have easily discussed several other accomplished artists, including people like Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo, Shoji Kawamori, and Shinichiro Watanabe among many, many others. If there’s someone I missed, please feel free to shoot me an email at rowegn@animeclassics.com
• Well that’s it for this episode of Anime Classics.
• On the next episode, we’re going to dive into the animation studios and the classic anime they are known for.
• You can find our show notes and links at animeclassics.com.
• Also, be sure to check out my blog, 90sanime.com, and sign up for our newsletter.
• This show is a production of Desmor Media LLC, music is Kaleidoscopes by RomanBelov via Pixabay
• Thank you so much again for tuning in, and until next time, enjoy some classic anime.